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Hurricane Tips for Keeping Toddlers Entertained

by Cyndi Li on November 12, 2012

Cyndi Li

About the Author

Cyndi Li has been freelance writing since 2005. She&#8217;s been published in Twins Magazine, and has written thousands of online articles. She&#8217;s the proud mother of five children ranging in age from six-years-old to 28 years-old including a set of adorable, mischievous twins. She enjoys spending time with her beautiful granddaughter, Hailey, and loves the outdoors, creating unique family memorabilia, and cooking from scratch.

About the Blog

WhatToExpect.com supports Word of Mom as a place to share stories and highlight the many perspectives and experiences of pregnancy and parenting. However, the opinions expressed in this section are those of individual writers and do not reflect the views of Heidi Murkoff of the What to Expect brand.

Severe storms are a given on the eastern seaboard. My power was knocked out for five days during Hurricane Sandy this past October. I've got twins so your sympathies are welcomed! Actually, it really wasn't too bad. I had a few tricks up my sleeve that really came in handy. These activities were easy, fun, and helped keep my little ones entertained.

The first thing I did was gear up before the storm hit. I made sure I had enough flashlights and batteries, brand new coloring books, two fresh boxes of crayons, and washable markers. I also purchased various art supply items and two new bed sheets — one pink and one blue — and printed out a bunch of activity pages off the Internet. As you can see, I was well prepared when the storm hit.

The storm left us without power during the week, so we completed the packets I printed offline. I let them play with all the stuff I'd bought and they were able to create whatever they wanted. We used all sorts of stickers, foam shapes and letters, little pieces of cloth, felt, glitter, glue, and lots of other neat stuff. And, boy did they make a mess! The coloring books and crayons are self-explanatory, so I'll fill you in on what we did with the sheets.

First, I laid each sheet out on the floor and let them write and draw all over them. Then, we cleared the dining room table and draped the sheets over it. Voila! Instant hurricane shelter: the perfect place for reading books, having picnics, and telling stories. They each got their very own flashlight to help them see in the dark.

We also did the traditional puzzles, read books, played board games, and spent time releasing pent-up energy on the swing set. All of this together really helped keep them entertained and prevented time from standing still until the power turned back on.

Use these tips, and your own imagination, to pass the time during a power outage and to keep the natives from getting too restless.

What activities have you used to entertain your children during a power outage? Feel free to share with us in the comment section below.